Jackson was inspired. In a note to his wife at the end of the campaign, he wrote, “God has been our shield, and to His name be all the glory.” This was a fitting declaration, for by the conclusion of the three-month contest in the Shenandoah, Jackson’s men were convinced that their general was in direct communication with heaven. He marched them until their legs had no feeling, he drove them beyond exhaustion, he showed nothing but contempt for those who straggled or fell ill.

When the soldiers reached the field of battle, spitting cotton and stumbling from fatigue, Jackson flung them into combat and never gave thought to casualties until he had exploited every chance for gain. Credit for all accomplishments went to God. All the men got for their fighting and bravery and suffering was victory after victory. But that was enough. They were Jackson’s foot cavalry: unmatched for speed on the march and a proven fighting force a cut above other volunteers in that civil war between citizen-soldiers.